By Brad Grewe
The Interfaith Green Team was created as an offshoot of the JONAH Environmental Task Force in 2022, and we have been meeting regularly for about three years now. We consist of around a dozen local congregations that represent a broad spectrum of denominations, a true cross section of the diversity of faith groups in our community. We do not have a specific charter or charge, other than a mutual desire to advance efforts to care for the Earth. These efforts span a wide range of issues, including pollution, recycling, climate change, renewable energy, water conservation, habitat and plant preservation and restoration, climate justice, and engaging in local and regional policy development. Our efforts predominantly are geared toward increasing our knowledge and understanding of the issues and sharing that information among ourselves so that we can then pass it on to our respective congregations.
The Interfaith Green Team traditionally meets on the third Wednesday of each month. Meetings are hosted on a rotating basis by participating congregations and are typically attended by 15 to 25 representatives. The hosting congregation sends out a summary of the meeting to all members. Like most work groups, we are steadily evolving in our processes, and now each congregation submits an update of their news for the group to the monthly email. These updates are then highlighted and expanded upon at the meeting, with time for clarifying questions. The updates include actions that our various groups are doing and new resources or information to share from local, regional, or national sources. This way, the entire group is able to benefit from new knowledge that is pertinent to their congregations.
Each Interfaith Green Team attendee represents their congregation’s own Green Team, and the activities of the various groups are quite diverse, reflecting each congregation’s own interests and capabilities. We often invite a guest speaker to share information on a current topic or initiative that is occurring in the region. This past year we had speakers from the Chippewa Valley Biodiversity Partnership and the Eau Claire County Department of Recycling and Sustainability. Jordan from the JONAH Environmental Task Force visited us to bring us up to speed on the Plastic Free Eau Claire initiative, and we had a person speak to us about planting native plant species and supporting native landscapes. Occasionally, the group will participate in site visits, such as our March trip to First Choice Recycling Center to observe their processes and learn more about their services. We are hoping to do a visit to Riverflow Refillery sometime this fall.
Aside from educating our congregations, the Interfaith Green Team has been engaged with advancing community eco-related initiatives. We have participated in the Earth Week Open House event at the Brewing Projekt and helped advance the No Mow May initiative last year. We advocated for the One Book, One Community activities around Doug Tallamay’s book Nature’s Best Hope, and several of our congregations had programs inspired by the book. We have become a member partner in the Chippewa Valley Biodiversity Partnership (CVBP) which has opened new opportunities for collaboration. Through our connection with the CVBP, we have a better finger on the pulse of what is happening regarding environmental concerns in the community, which we relay to our congregations. In this way, we can bring the power of numbers in a coordinated fashion to CVBP and JONAH supported initiatives and community issues. Our congregations were educated in the “Save the Trees” efforts this past month with the City Council actions regarding the Century Plan and new ordinances for developers. Our Green Teams were encouraged to write their Councilmembers or attend the City Council meetings this past month if they were in support of the proposed changes. Earlier this year, we encouraged letters to the City Parks and Waterways Commission in opposition of a resolution to discontinue revues of development plans of private developments adjacent to our community parks and waterways. We believe that our letters had a role in the Commission voting down the resolution.
We like to think of ourselves as a megaphone that amplifies the voice of JONAH, the Environmental Task Force and groups like the CVBP on issues that resonate with our congregations. For more information about the Interfaith Green Team or joining the group, please reach out to Cynthia Wahl at campbellwahl@gmail.com